Mark,
First off you are a GREAT AMERICAN! I listen to your show every night. When I first started listening I always wondered why you said \”Goodnight Sprite.\” Then one day I was out and I heard you talking about Sprite. It was only a few weeks earlier that I had lost my Greyhound of 11 years. I rescued her when she was 3. I was in the fifth grade at the time. I have always been a HUGE animal lover. I was feeling so down and out, and then I heard your story.

I know it is a hard thing to go through, but hearing some of your story was comforting. Shortly after I heard that radio program my boyfriend and I went out and got another dog. We got a Great Dane, and named him Odin. He is the biggest baby ever. He is only 140 pounds, slightly small for a Dane. He weighed more than I did when he was about 10 months old.

When Odin was about a year old my boyfriend was at work, and  there was a litter of kittens only 3 weeks old running around with no mother. So he brought one home. The cat, Kitty as we call him, weighed slightly under a half pound. Needless to say Odin and Kitty sleep together, eat together, and  play together. I was nervous at first but they love one another more than I could have hoped for. I just wanted to thank you for sharing your story and giving support to this great nation! Keep up the good work!

Nicole from TN

Our sweet little Heidi, found me on a snowy December night in 1996 while I was putting up Christmas lights for my Mom. She was 14 months old, but still very much a baby. She belonged to a neighbor who couldn’t take proper care of her. There had been abuse and neglect involved. She wandered over to my Moms house on that cold December night and found me. I looked down and saw this little creature looking up at me with a look that said “I found you!” My son Jim was with me and told me that the woman that owned her was looking for a home for her. I wasn’t sure what I was even seeing she was so matted and wet. But, I saw a love in her eyes that I had never seen before so without hesitation, I picked up that sweet, wet and shivering baby and never put her down. The woman gave me her papers and wished us well. My Heidi became my shadow. She saw me through so many of lifes hard times and sorrows, including the loss of my Mom on April 11, 1999, followed by my sister 5 weeks later. A divorce followed that. Life lessons and changes, Heidi and I weathered them all together. In August 2002 I met Clyde and Heidi got another love in her life. She was his “Doodle Dog.” He loved her and she loved him. I was so happy to have met someone that could love her as much as he did. We took her camping, made sure she had all of her “cookies”, toys and just loved her. Her soul spoke to us. She was so special, even taking a moment to “pray” over her food before beginning her meal. Just a soulful little girl.

This past February, her “sister” Mandy, my sons Calico cat came back to live with us. She had been living with my ex-husband out in the country but my son wanted to move back to the city and bring his cat. Mandy had issues with Heidi when I first got her, as Mandy is 4 years older and, A CAT! Mandy had been an only pet for 4 years and had to adjust. I thought there might be a few left over issues when she was coming back, but there were none at all. Old age mellowed Mandy, and Heidi was grateful I’m sure. As with any aging pet, you start to dread “that day.” Heidi was 12 years old, but still doing pretty good. She had some of the aging problems that many dogs get, but overall, she was in good shape. She was, however, becoming increasingly fearful of storms. It was getting much worse as she aged. Fireworks also freaked her out. Read the rest of this entry »

All my life since I was a kid I wanted to have a show dog. I never had time, never had the money to do so until I married. My very supportive husband and I decided to go on a quest for the right dog for us. I have always been a sporting dog fan, you know the Weimaraner, German Shorthaired Pointer, Irish Setter. But with our home, the size of our yard and the HUGE cost of owning a dog we decided to go a little smaller, actually a LOT smaller!

We found an adorable Toy Fox Terrier that needed a home. He was pick of the litter but he was male, one of way too many owned by the breeder. Lucky for us her main ambition was to find loving owners, not make a lot of money. We got photos of him on the web, fell in love and decided that was our boy! Rather than put him threw the trauma of being flown to us, we drove over 900 miles one way to get our buddy. He was so tiny, very shy and not well by the time we got him home.

We discovered he was allergic to wheat and dairy products in his food. After changing that he got over the allergies but shyness, that\’s took longer. I took him on long walks, to Pet\’s Mart, to noisy main streets, shopping centers to hear, see, smell all the new things in his much expanded world. After all to be a show dog he HAD to allow strangers to run their hands on him, look into his mouth and he had to show off to win. Our first show he was horrified! We entered the grooming area with a puppy shaking like a leaf on a windy day. It was sad, so sad we thought, hum, maybe we might just need to keep him as a pet. But since we were there we thought we\’d try him in the show area.

When we walked in it was like some turned on a \’show\’ switch. He pranced, he walked, acted and preformed like his Champion parents before him! On his first show he got a 2 pt major win which was NOT bad for any dog, but wonderful for a dog that had bee shy and so ill. I finished my guy in October of 2008. He has fulfilled my childhood dreams, gave my husband and myself another bond between us and has added such a sparkling personality to our family. All that and he loves Murphy our cat! Here is Champion Fanci\’s The DAX FACTOR at Warp 10!

Pam from IL

thanks for a place to cry, becky, our golden retriver,two week ago, had to leave us, i truly believe we will see her again, in heaven, those that say there will not be any animals in heaven better rember, God shall gome again riding on a white horse, love like beckey,s will forever be hard to find, thanks for the chance to grieve Mark,

Paul from TX

Mark, your book was very moving, it is not just for dog lovers, its for everyone whose pets have left their mark on our hearts. I have had dogs and cats all my life and it never gets eaiser to have to make that call to the vet.. I felt exactly like you did, wanting to call back and cancel the appt. My last pet, Dusty, a little black cat with lots of problems including being blind and who only lived to the age of 4 will always be remembered , she taught me so much . Mark take comfort in knowing you gave Sprite a wonderful life.

Ann from MN